There are many ways to win a tennis match. During this year’s US Open, USOpen.org will be playing a numbers game, digging deeper into the statistical analysis of select matches to provide highlights, further insights and data points on player performance.
The much-hyped Carlos Alcaraz was too strong for the 26th seed Cameron Norrie, winning, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, in an hour and 54 minutes.
Those lucky enough to be on Court 10 will remember the name Carlos Alcaraz Garfia, just likes those who were present in 2003 will remember the debut of another young Spanish player, Rafael Nadal. The young Spaniard showed that there were several similarities between him and his illustrious compatriot.
Below we compare Rafael Nadal's championship run in 2019 to Alcaraz’s US Open debut.
Use of the forehand
One of the hallmarks of a Nadal match is how often he uses his forehand. During the 2019 US Open, Nadal used his forehand on 61% of his groundstrokes. In the first round on Monday, Alcaraz showed that he shares the same tendency by favoring his forehand on 64% of groundstrokes. Both players are significantly higher than the US Open average of 56% of groundstrokes being forehands.
Weight of forehand
One of the defining features of Nadal’s game is the amount of topspin he generates on his forehand. In 2019 Nadal averaged 3251 rpm, which ranked fourth that year.
2019 US Open: Forehand Spin
1. Jack Sock: 3422 rpm
2. Matteo Berrettini: 3302 rpm
3. Federico Delbonis: 3253 rpm
4. Rafael Nadal: 3251 rpm
5. Bradley Klahn: 3248 rpm
Alcaraz showed that he, too, creates incredible levels of spin by averaging 3249 rpm, which is the highest rate we have seen on Day 1 of the 2021 US Open. To put this in context, the average forehand spin rate is 2680 rpm.
Dominating the baseline
In 2019, Nadal won 57% of points from the baseline during his seven-game march to the title. Alcaraz showed a similar appetite to control points from the baseline as he won 41/73 (56%) of baseline points against Norrie.
Alcaraz next plays Arthur Rinderknech for a place in the third round.
